Device and method for providing ue radio capability to core network of mobile communication system

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a pre-5th-Generation (5G) or 5G communication system to be provided for supporting higher data rates in a Beyond 4th-Generation (4G) communication system such as Long Term Evolution (LTE). According to various embodiments, a network node in a wireless communication system may include: receiving, from an application function (AF) via a network exposure function (NEF), user equipment (UE) radio capability information on UE radio capability identifier (ID) and at least one UE radio capability mapping to the UE radio capability ID; receiving, from an access and mobility management function (AMF), a request for information on at least one UE radio capability mapping to a specific UE radio capability ID; and transmitting, to the AMF, the information on at least one UE radio capability mapping to the specific UE radio capability ID.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 toKorean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0093843 filed on Aug. 10, 2018,Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0135192 filed on Nov. 6, 2018,Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0020755 filed on Feb. 21, 2019,and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0048730 filed on Apr. 25, 2019in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which areherein incorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The disclosure generally relates to a mobile communication system and,more particularly, to a device and method for providing a UE radiocapability to a core network in a mobile communication system.

2. Description of Related Art

To meet the demand for wireless data traffic having increased sincedeployment of 4^(th) generation (4G) communication systems, efforts havebeen made to develop an improved 5^(th) generation (5G) or pre-5Gcommunication system. Therefore, the 5G or pre-5G communication systemis also called a ‘Beyond 4G Network’ or a ‘Post Long Term Evolution(LTE) System’.

The 5G communication system is considered to be implemented in higherfrequency (mmWave) bands, e.g., 60 GHz bands, so as to accomplish higherdata rates. To decrease propagation loss of the radio waves and increasethe transmission distance, the beamforming, massive multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO), Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna,an analog beam forming, large scale antenna techniques are discussed in5G communication systems.

In addition, in 5G communication systems, development for system networkimprovement is under way based on advanced small cells, cloud RadioAccess Networks (RANs), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D)communication, wireless backhaul, moving network, cooperativecommunication, Coordinated Multi-Points (CoMP), reception-endinterference cancellation and the like.

In the 5G system, Hybrid frequency shift keying (FSK) and quadratureamplitude modulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding(SWSC) as an advanced coding modulation (ACM), and filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and sparse codemultiple access (SCMA) as an advanced access technology have beendeveloped.

The Internet, which is a human centered connectivity network wherehumans generate and consume information, is now evolving to the Internetof Things (IoT) where distributed entities, such as things, exchange andprocess information without human intervention. The Internet ofEverything (IoE), which is a combination of the IoT technology and theBig Data processing technology through connection with a cloud server,has emerged. As technology elements, such as “sensing technology”,“wired/wireless communication and network infrastructure”, “serviceinterface technology”, and “Security technology” have been demanded forIoT implementation, a sensor network, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M)communication, Machine Type Communication (MTC), and so forth have beenrecently researched. Such an IoT environment may provide intelligentInternet technology services that create a new value to human life bycollecting and analyzing data generated among connected things. IoT maybe applied to a variety of fields including smart home, smart building,smart city, smart car or connected cars, smart grid, health care, smartappliances and advanced medical services through convergence andcombination between existing Information Technology (IT) and variousindustrial applications.

Accordingly, various attempts to apply the 5G communication to the IoTnetwork are made. For example, technologies, such as a sensor network,machine to machine (M2M), and machine type communication (MTC), areimplemented by techniques, such as beamforming, MIMO, and an arrayantenna. The application of a cloud RAN as the big data processingtechnology may be an example of convergence of the 5G technology and theIoT technology.

Along with the development of the mobile communication technology, asdescribed above, when a UE radio capability increases, the size ofinformation that may include the UE radio capability is increased. Thisaffects the size of a message transmitted in a radio resource, and whenthe UE radio capability is not fully transmitted with one message,inefficiency of further utilizing the message of the radio resourceoccurs. Because a 5G radio system supports a greater number of bandcombinations and functions, it is anticipated that more types of radiocapabilities will be expected, and inefficiencies will increaseaccordingly. Therefore, a measure for overcoming such inefficiency maybe required.

SUMMARY

Based on the above discussion, the disclosure provides a device andmethod for enabling a core network to effectively recognize a UE radiocapability in a mobile communication system.

According to various embodiments, a method for operating a network nodein a wireless communication system may include: receiving, from anapplication function (AF) via a network exposure function (NEF), userequipment (UE) radio capability information on UE radio capabilityidentifier (ID) and at least one UE radio capability mapping to the UEradio capability ID; receiving, from an access and mobility managementfunction (AMF), a request for information on at least one UE radiocapability mapping to a specific UE radio capability ID; transmitting,to the AMF, the information on at least one UE radio capability mappingto the specific UE radio capability ID.

According to various embodiments, a network node in a wirelesscommunication system may include: a transceiver; and at least oneprocessor operably coupled to the transceiver, and configured to:receive, from an application function (AF) via a network exposurefunction (NEF), user equipment (UE) radio capability information on UEradio capability identifier (ID) and at least one UE radio capabilitymapping to the UE radio capability ID; receive, from an access andmobility management function (AMF), a request for information on atleast one UE radio capability mapping to a specific UE radio capabilityID; and transmit, to the AMF, the information on at least one UE radiocapability mapping to the specific UE radio capability ID.

A device and method according to various embodiments enables devices ofa core network in a mobile communication system to efficiently recognizea UE radio capability.

Effects which can be acquired by the disclosure are not limited to theabove described effects, and other effects that have not been mentionedmay be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the followingdescription.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may beadvantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases usedthroughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” aswell as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term“or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and“associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean toinclude, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be containedwithin, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with,cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to orwith, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller”means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least oneoperation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware orsoftware, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should benoted that the functionality associated with any particular controllermay be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely.

Moreover, various functions described below can be implemented orsupported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed fromcomputer readable program code and embodied in a computer readablemedium. The terms “application” and “program” refer to one or morecomputer programs, software components, sets of instructions,procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or aportion thereof adapted for implementation in a suitable computerreadable program code. The phrase “computer readable program code”includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code,and executable code. The phrase “computer readable medium” includes anytype of medium capable of being accessed by a computer, such as readonly memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive, acompact disc (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), or any other type ofmemory. A “non-transitory” computer readable medium excludes wired,wireless, optical, or other communication links that transporttransitory electrical or other signals. A non-transitory computerreadable medium includes media where data can be permanently stored andmedia where data can be stored and later overwritten, such as arewritable optical disc or an erasable memory device.

Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout thispatent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understandthat in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, aswell as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and itsadvantages, reference is now made to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumerals represent like parts:

FIG. 1 illustrates a mobile communication system according to variousembodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration of a base station in the mobilecommunication system according to various embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a configuration of a UE in the mobile communicationsystem according to various embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates a configuration of a core network object in themobile communication system according to various embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a method of providing a radio capability andrepresentative representation information therefor to a 5G mobilecommunication system by a server operated by a UE manufacturer accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates a method of providing a radio capability andrepresentative representation information therefor to a 5G mobilecommunication system by a server operated by a mobile communicationservice provider according to an embodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates a method of storing a UE radio capability andrepresentative representation information therefor in a UDR andutilizing the same in the 5G mobile communication system according to anembodiment; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a method of storing a radio capability andrepresentative representation information therefor which are acquiredfrom the UE and updating the same to the UDR, by an AMF according to anembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 through 8, discussed below, and the various embodiments used todescribe the principles of the present disclosure in this patentdocument are by way of illustration only and should not be construed inany way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the artwill understand that the principles of the present disclosure may beimplemented in any suitably arranged system or device.

The terms used in the disclosure are only used to describe specificembodiments, and are not intended to limit the disclosure. A singularexpression may include a plural expression unless they are definitelydifferent in a context. Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein,including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as thosecommonly understood by a person skilled in the art to which thedisclosure pertains. Such terms as those defined in a generally useddictionary may be interpreted to have the meanings identical or similarto the contextual meanings in the relevant field of art, and are not tobe interpreted to have ideal or excessively formal meanings unlessclearly defined in the disclosure. In some cases, even the term definedin the disclosure should not be interpreted to exclude embodiments.

Hereinafter, various embodiments will be described based on an approachof hardware. However, various embodiments include a technology that usesboth hardware and software and thus, the various embodiments may notexclude the perspective of software.

Hereinafter, the disclosure relates to a device and method forrecognizing a UE radio capability by a core network in a mobilecommunication system. Particularly, the disclosure describes atechnology for, in a mobile communication system, configuringassociation between a radio capability and a representativerepresentation that expresses the radio capability, and allowing a corenetwork to recognize the UE radio capability by using the representativerepresentation, thereby reducing a loss of a resource for recognizingthe UE radio capability by the core network.

Terms referring to a signal to be used, terms referring to a channel,terms referring to control information, terms referring to a message,terms referring to network entities, terms referring to elements of adevice, and the like are illustrated for convenience of explanation.Accordingly, the disclosure is not limited to the following terms andother terms having the same technical meaning may be used.

The disclosure describes various embodiments by using terms used in somecommunication specifications (e.g., 3rd Generation Partnership Project(3GPP)), but this is merely illustrative. Various embodiments may alsobe easily modified and applied to other communication systems.

FIG. 1 illustrates a mobile communication system according to variousembodiments.

Referring to FIG. 1, the mobile communication system includes a RadioAccess Network (RAN) 102 and a Core Network (CN) 104.

The radio access network 102 is a network directly connected to a userdevice, for example, a UE 120, and is an infrastructure that providesradio access to the UE 120. The radio access network 102 may include aset of multiple base stations including a base station 110, and mayperform communication via interfaces established between the multiplebase stations. At least some of the interfaces between the multiple basestations may be wired interfaces or wireless interfaces. The basestation 110 may have a structure in which a Central Unit (CU) and aDistributed Unit (DU) are separated. In this case, a single CU maycontrol multiple DUs. The base station 110 may be referred to as, inaddition to a base station, an “Access Point (AP)”, a “next generationNode B (gNB)”, a “5th Generation (5G) node”, a “wireless point”, a“Transmission/Reception Point (TRP)”, or other terms having equivalenttechnical meanings. The UE 120 may access the radio access network 102,and may perform communication with the base station 110 through a radiochannel. The UE 120 may be referred to as, in addition to a terminal, a“User Equipment (UE)”, a “mobile station”, a “subscriber station”, a“remote terminal”, a “wireless terminal”, a “user device”, or otherterms having equivalent technical meanings.

The core network 104 is a network that manages the entire system, whichcontrols the radio access network 102 and processes data and controlsignals for the UE 120, which are transmitted or received via the radioaccess network 102. The core network 104 performs various functions,such as controlling a user plane and a control plane, processingmobility, managing subscriber information, charging, and interworkingwith other types of systems (e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system).In order to perform the described various functions, the core network104 may include multiple functionally separated entities havingdifferent Network Functions (NFs). For example, the core network 104 mayinclude an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 130 a, aSession Management Function (SMF) 130 b, a User Plane Function (UPF) 130c, a Policy and Charging Function (PCF) 130 d, a Network RepositoryFunction (NRF) 130 e, Unified Data Management (UDM) 130 f, a NetworkExposure Function (NEF) 130 g, and an Unified Data Repository (UDR) 130h.

The UE 120 may be connected to the radio access network 102 and mayaccess the AMF 130 a that forms a mobility management function of thecore network 104. The AMF 130 a is a function or a device that is incharge of both access to the radio access network 102 and the mobilitymanagement of the UE 120. The SMF 130 b is an NF to manage a session.The AMF 130 a is connected to the SMF 130 b, and routes a messagerelating to a session for the UE 120 to the SMF 130 b. The SMF 130 b isconnected to the UPF 130 c, allocates a user plane resource to beprovided to the UE 120, and establishes a tunnel to transmit databetween the base station 110 and the UPF 130 c. The PCF 130 d controlsinformation related to a policy and charging for a session used by theUE 120. The NRF 130 e stores information of NFs installed in a mobilecommunication service provider network, and performs a function tonotify of the stored information. The NRF 130 e may be connected to allNFs. When starting operation in a service provider network, each NFprovides, to the NRF 130 e, a notification that a corresponding NR isbeing operated in the network, by registration in the NRF 130 e. The UDN130 f is an NF to perform a function similar to that of a HomeSubscriber Server (HSS) in a 4G network, and stores subscriptioninformation of the UE 120 or a context used by the UE 120 in thenetwork.

The NEF 130 g performs a function to connect a 3rd party server and anNF in the 5G mobile communication system. Also, the NEF 130 g performs afunction to provide data to the UDR 130 h or acquire data. The UDR 130 hperforms a function to store subscription information of the UE 120,store policy information, store data exposed to the outside, or storeinformation for a 3rd party application. The UDR 130 h also performs afunction to provide the stored data to another NF.

The UDM 130 f, the PCF 130 d, the SMF 130 b, the AMF 130 a, the NRF 130e, the NEF 130 g, and the UDR 130 h may be connected via service-basedinterfaces, and may exchange control messages by allowing other NFs touse services or Application Program Interfaces (APIs) provided by therespective NFs. The NFs define services provided thereby, which aredefined in the standard as Nudm, Npcf, Nsmf, Namf, Nnrf, Nnef, Nudr, andthe like. For example, when the AMF 130 a transmits a session-relatedmessage to the SMF 130 b, an API of a service ofNsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext may be used.

FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration of a base station in the mobilecommunication system according to various embodiments. The configurationillustrated in FIG. 2 may be understood as a configuration of the basestation 110. The term “-unit” or “-er” used hereinafter may refer to aunit for processing at least one function or operation and may beimplemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware andsoftware.

Referring to FIG. 2, the base station 110 includes a radio communicationunit 210, a backhaul communication unit 220, a storage unit 230, and acontrol unit 240.

The radio communication unit 210 performs functions to transmit orreceive a signal through a radio channel. For example, the radiocommunication unit 210 performs a function of conversion between abaseband signal and a bit stream according to a physical layer standardof a system. For example, when data is transmitted, the radiocommunication unit 210 generates complex symbols by encoding andmodulating a transmission bit stream. Also, when data is received, theradio communication unit 210 restores a reception bit stream bydemodulating and decoding a baseband signal.

Also, the radio communication unit 210 up-converts a baseband signalinto an RF band signal and transmits the same through an antenna, anddown-converts an RF band signal received through an antenna into abaseband signal. To this end, the radio communication unit 210 mayinclude a transmission filter, a reception filter, an amplifier, amixer, an oscillator, a Digital-to-Analog Convertor (DAC), anAnalog-to-Digital Convertor (ADC), and the like. Also, the radiocommunication unit 210 may include multiple transmission/receptionpaths. Further, the radio communication unit 210 may include at leastone antenna array including multiple antenna elements.

In terms of hardware, the radio communication unit 210 may include adigital unit and an analog unit, wherein the analog unit includesmultiple sub-units according to an operating power, an operatingfrequency, and the like. The digital unit may be implemented as at leastone processor (e.g., a Digital Signal Processor (DSP)).

The radio communication unit 210 transmits and receives a signal asdescribed above. Accordingly, all or a part of the radio communicationunit 210 may be referred to as a “transmission unit”, a “receptionunit”, or a “transmission/reception unit”. Transmission and receptionperformed through a radio channel, which will be described in thefollowing descriptions, may be understood to mean that theabove-described processing is performed by the radio communication unit210.

The backhaul communication unit 220 provides an interface for performingcommunication with other nodes within the network. That is, the backhaulcommunication unit 220 converts, into a physical signal, a bit streamtransmitted from a base station to another node, for example, anotheraccess node, another base station, an upper node, the core network,etc., and converts a physical signal received from another node into abit stream.

The storage unit 230 may store data, such as a basic program foroperation of a base station, an application program, configurationinformation, and the like. The storage unit 230 may include a volatilememory, a non-volatile memory, or a combination of a volatile memory anda non-volatile memory. The storage unit 230 provides stored data inresponse to a request of the control unit 240.

The control unit 240 controls overall operations of the base station.For example, the control unit 240 transmits and receives a signal viathe radio communication unit 210 or the backhaul communication unit 220.Further, the control unit 240 records data in the storage unit 230 andreads the recorded data. The control unit 240 may perform functions of aprotocol stack required by the communication standard. According toanother implementation, the processor stack may be included in the radiocommunication unit 210. To this end, the control unit 2 h 240 mayinclude at least one processor. According to various embodiments, thecontrol unit 240 may control the base station to perform operationsdescribed below.

FIG. 3 illustrates a configuration of a UE in the mobile communicationsystem according to various embodiments. The configuration illustratedin FIG. 3 may be understood as a configuration of the UE 120. The term“-unit” or “-er” used hereinafter may refer to a unit for processing atleast one function or operation and may be implemented in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software.

Referring to FIG. 3, the UE 120 includes a communication unit 310, astorage unit 320, and a control unit 330.

The communication unit 310 performs functions for transmitting orreceiving a signal through a wireless channel. For example, thecommunication unit 310 performs a function of conversion between abaseband signal and a bit stream according to a physical layer standardof a system. For example, when data is transmitted, the communicationunit 310 generates complex symbols by encoding and modulating atransmission bit stream. Also, when data is received, the communicationunit 310 restores a reception bit stream by demodulating and decoding abaseband signal. Also, the communication unit 310 up-converts a basebandsignal into an RF band signal and transmits the same through an antenna,and down-converts an RF band signal received through an antenna into abaseband signal. For example, the communication unit 310 may include atransmission filter, a reception filter, an amplifier, a mixer, anoscillator, a DAC, an ADC, and the like.

Also, the communication unit 310 may include a plurality oftransmission/reception paths. Further, the communication unit 310 mayinclude at least one antenna array including multiple antenna elements.In terms of hardware, the communication unit 310 may include a digitalcircuit and an analog circuit (e.g., a radio frequency integratedcircuit (RFIC)). The digital circuit and the analog circuit may beimplemented in a single package. The communication unit 310 may includea plurality of RF chains. Further, the communication unit 310 mayperform beamforming.

The communication unit 310 transmits and receives a signal as describedabove. Accordingly, all or a part of the communication unit 310 may bereferred to as “a transmission unit”, “a reception unit”, or “atransmission/reception unit”. Also, transmission and reception performedthrough a wireless channel, which will be described in the followingdescriptions, may be understood to mean that the above-describedprocessing is performed by the communication unit 310.

The storage unit 320 may store data, such as a basic program foroperation of a UE, an application program, configuration information,and the like. The storage unit 320 may include a volatile memory, anon-volatile memory, or a combination of a volatile memory and anon-volatile memory. The storage unit 320 provides stored data inresponse to a request of the control unit 330.

The control unit 330 controls overall operations of the UE. For example,the control unit 330 transmits and receives a signal via thecommunication unit 310. Further, the control unit 330 records data inthe storage unit 320 and reads the recorded data. The control unit 330may perform functions of a protocol stack required by the communicationstandard. To this end, the control unit 330 may include at least oneprocessor or a micro-processor, or may be a part of a processor. A partof the communication unit 310 and the control unit 330 may be referredto as a communication processor (CP). According to various embodiments,the control unit 330 may control the UE to perform operations describedbelow.

FIG. 4 illustrates a configuration 130 of a core network object in themobile communication system according to various embodiments. Theconfiguration 130 illustrated in FIG. 4 may be understood as aconfiguration of a device having at least one function among the AMF 130a, the SMF 130 b, the UPF 130 c, the PCF 130 d, the NRF 130 e, the UDM130 f, the NEF 130 g, and the UDR 130 h in FIG. 1. The term “-unit” or“-er” used hereinafter may refer to a unit for processing at least onefunction or operation and may be implemented in hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software.

Referring to FIG. 4, a core network object includes a communication unit410, a storage unit 420, and a control unit 430.

The communication unit 410 provides an interface to performcommunication with other devices within the network. That is, thecommunication unit 410 converts, into a physical signal, a bit streamtransmitted from the core network object to another device, and convertsa physical signal received from another device into a bit stream. Thatis, the communication unit 410 may transmit or receive a signal.Accordingly, the communication unit 410 may be referred to as a modem, atransmitter, a receiver, or a transceiver. The communication unit 410enables the core network object to communicate with other devices orsystems via a network or a backhaul connection (e.g., a wired backhaulor a radio backhaul).

The storage unit 420 stores data, such as configuration information, anapplication program, and a basic program for an operation of the corenetwork object. The storage unit 420 may include a volatile memory, anon-volatile memory, or a combination of a volatile memory and anon-volatile memory. The storage unit 420 provides stored data inresponse to a request of the control unit 430.

The control unit 430 controls overall operations of the core networkobject. For example, the control unit 430 transmits and receives asignal via the communication unit 410. Further, the control unit 430records data in the storage unit 420 and reads the recorded data. Tothis end, the control unit 430 may include at least one processor.According to various embodiments, the control unit 430 may control thecore network object to perform operations described below.

In the following description of the various embodiments, the disclosureis mainly applied to a radio access network (NRC), a new radio (NR) thatis a core network, and a packet core (a 5G system, a 5G core network, oran NG core) defined by the 5G network standard of 3GPP. However, variousembodiments described below can be also applied to other communicationsystems having similar technical backgrounds with a slight variationwithin the scope that does not depart from the scope of the disclosure,and can be derived according to determination by those skilled in theart.

The disclosure describes a UE radio capability and a representativerepresentation method of expressing the radio capability. The UE radiocapability refers to various capabilities including a radio technology,a frequency band, or a combination thereof, which are compatible withthe UE. Because the radio capability that the UE has may includemultiple radio technologies, multiple frequency bands, a combination thefrequency bands, or a set of the described capabilities, therepresentative representation method of the radio capability refers toexpressing various radio capabilities with one representativerepresentation. For convenience of description, the representativerepresentation of various radio capabilities is referred to as a “radiocapability identifier”. However, the representative representationrefers to a representative representation method that may refer to a setof various radio capabilities that the UE has. The radio capability IDmay be an ID assigned by a UE manufacturer or an ID assigned by a PLMNservice provider. The ID may be a hash value generated by an IMEI of theUE or UE identification information within a service provider.

In the description below, a set of radio capabilities that the UE hasmay be referred to as a “UE radio capability”. Mapping between the UEradio capability and the radio capability ID that is a representativerepresentation method thereof may be referred to as associated betweenthe radio capability and the radio capability ID. A radio capabilitycorresponding to the radio capability ID may be identified using theassociation and, similarly, a corresponding radio capability ID may beidentified on the basis of the radio capability.

First Embodiment—FIG. 5

A first embodiment is based on FIG. 5.

The Application Function (AF) in FIG. 5 refers to an applicationfunction operated by a UE manufacturer or a PLMN service provider.Alternatively, although the AF is operated by other than a UEmanufacturer, the AF may refer to other application functions to managea UE radio capability and a radio capability ID.

The UE manufacturer knows a UE radio capability when the UE is newlyreleased or knows a radio capability of a UE having already beenreleased. The UE manufacturer may determine, using a method based on the3GPP standard, a radio capability ID capable of representing theinformation, and may configure the same to the UE. In the case of a UEhaving already been released, because a specific radio capability may beprevented from being used, via a software update, a radio capability IDother than a previously configured radio capability ID may be required.As a result, the UE created by the UE manufacturer is configured by aradio capability ID configured by the UE manufacturer, and makes anattempt to access the mobile communication system by using the radiocapability ID.

When the UE manufacturer newly releases a UE, the UE manufacturer maycontract, in advance, with a mobile communication company, via which theUE is to be released. Therefore, the mobile communication company mayauthorize a server operated by the UE manufacturer to provide its ownmobile communication network with a UE radio capability and a radiocapability ID therefor. Because one UE may switch and use multiplemobile communication service providers, the UE manufacturer may contractwith multiple mobile communication service providers, as describedabove. Alternatively, the UE manufacturer may have access to athird-party vendor that is authorized to serve as a radio capabilityprovider with mobile communication service providers around the world.As described above, the AF of the embodiment may refer to a serveroperated by the UE manufacturer or a server authorized to provide the UEradio capability to the mobile communication service provider.

The AF in the embodiment may be a kind of a network function operated bythe PLMN service provider. That is, the AF may correspond to a networkfunction that may store a UE's radio capability and radio capability ID,may assign the radio capability ID, or may manage(generate/delete/modify) the radio capability ID. Therefore, the AF ofthe embodiment is not limited to the name AF and covers a networkfunction including a function enabling storage of a UE radio capabilityand a radio capability ID, assignment of the radio capability ID, ormanagement (generation/deletion/modification) of the radio capabilityID. In terms of which the AF of the embodiment is a network functionincluding a function enabling storage of a UE radio capability and aradio capability ID, assignment of the radio capability ID, ormanagement (generation/deletion/modification) of the radio capabilityID, the AF may be replaced with a UE Radio Capability ManagementFunction (UCMF) defined in 3GPP.

According to step 501, the AF transfers a UE radio capability and aradio capability ID therefor via an NEF. A message may includeassociation between multiple radio capability IDs and radiocapabilities. That is, the message may transfer a radio capability ofone UE type and a radio capability ID, and may transfer multiple radiocapabilities and radio capability IDs thereof for respective multiple UEtypes. To this end, an API provided by the NEF may be used.

Further, in the embodiment, this API is referred to as anNnef_RadioCapability_Provisioning Request message, for convenience. Thisrepresents a message that transfers association configured by the radiocapability and the radio capability ID therefor to the NEF. The messagemay include UE manufacturer information, or may include informationenabling the mobile communication company to authorize/approve acorresponding UE manufacturer.

The NEF having received the message determines whether the AF havingtransferred the message in step 501 is an authorized AF. If any AFtransfers a radio capability, wrong information may be provided to amobile communication system, and therefore the NEF checks the message ofstep 501 and determines whether the message is transferred from anauthorized AF or determines which manufacturer has transferred themessage. Therefore, according to step 503, the NEF checksauthentication/approval information or UE manufacturer informationprovided in step 501, and determines whether to accept the request ofthe message in step 501. The NEF may include, in advance, theinformation for performing authentication/approval.

The NEF having accepted the request transfers, to the AF, a responsethat the request has been accepted, in step 505. This response is aresponse to the message of step 501, and may be referred to asNnef_RadioCapability_Provisioning Response. The AF having received theresponse message may confirm that the UE radio capability and the radiocapability ID therefor, which are to be provided thereby, have properlybeen transferred to the corresponding mobile communication network.

The NEF initiates an operation for providing the NF of the mobilecommunication network with the UE radio capability and the radiocapability ID therefor, which are acquired in step 501. If the mobilecommunication system uses a UDR, the NEF may store, in the UDR, theradio capability and the radio capability ID which are received from theAF. This is based on embodiment 3 of the disclosure.

The NEF acquires addresses of the NFs in order to provide associationbetween the radio capability and the radio capability ID therefor to theNF of the 5G mobile communication system. Therefore, the NEF transfersthe message to the NRF in step 507. In the disclosure, providing an AMFwith a radio capability and a radio capability ID by the NEF is used asa representative example. The NEF may also transfer the information toanother NF within the 5G system. The NEF communicates with the NRF todiscover an NF to which the NEF itself is to transfer the radiocapability and radio capability ID. As in step 507, the NEF uses anNnrf_NFDiscovery_Request service. The NEF includes, in the message, anNF type that the NEF itself desires to discover. Alternatively, themessage may include a service operation name of a target NF. In thiscase, as Namf_Provisioning_Request in step 511, a service operation namefor providing specific information to a particular NF (e.g., the AMF)may be referred. The NEF may include an identifier indicating that allAMF information within a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) is desired.

According to step 509, the NRF includes and transfers an IP address ofthe NF, an FQDN, or the service operation name in response to therequest in step 507. According to an example, the NRF may include theFQDN or the IP address of the AMF, and a service operation name enablingradio capability information to be further provided to the AMF. The NRFmay respond including information of all AMFs within the PLMN.

The NEF may determine, on the basis of the received information, theAMFs to provide radio capabilities and radio capability IDs. If the NEFhas received the service operation name for providing information instep 509, the NEF transfers the message of step 511 by using the name.In the disclosure, Namf_Provisioning_Request refers to a serviceoperation that provides specific information to the AMF. The message ofstep 511 may be concurrently transferred to multiple AMFs. Further, themessage of step 511 may include the radio capability and the radiocapability ID received by the NEF from the AF. When association betweenmultiple radio capabilities and radio capability IDs are present, theNEF may include all multiple pieces of information in the message ofstep 511.

The AMF having received the message of step 511 stores the associationbetween the radio capabilities and the radio capability IDs. Therefore,when the UE transfers the radio capability IDs, the AMF may determinethe UE radio capabilities corresponding to the radio capability IDs.Alternatively, if the UE has transferred the entire set of the radiocapabilities, the radio capability IDs corresponding thereto may bedetermined. If the received information overlaps with information thatthe AMF already has, the AMF may update existing information with thenewly received information. Alternatively, the AMF may recognize thissituation as an error, and may perform a response thereto in step 513.

The AMF may transfer, via an N2 interface, this information to an NG-RANconnected thereto. If the radio capability and the radio capability IDinformation therefor are transferred to the NG-RAN via an N2 message,the NG-RAN stores this information, and may use the same when the UEaccesses a radio resource. For example, the UE may determine acorresponding UE radio capability by checking the radio capability IDtransferred in an RRC message. Further, the UE may apply an RRCoperation according thereto.

Thereafter, as shown in step 513, the AMF transfers, to the NEF, aresponse to step 511. This is referred to as Namf_Provisioning_Responsefor convenience, but refers to a response operation to a serviceoperation in which the NEF has transferred the radio capability and theradio capability ID to the AMF. In step 513, the AMF may indicate anerror situation as follows. For example, if the newly received radiocapability ID corresponds to the previously existing radio capabilityID, a notification of data duplication may be provided in step 513.Alternatively, when different radio capability IDs are assigned to a setof the same radio capabilities, a notification thereof may betransferred in step 513. Here, the AMF may include a cause of the errorsituation and the radio capability or the radio capability ID, in whichthe cause has occurred.

The NEF may determine in step 513 that the radio capability and theradio capability ID therefor have successfully been provided. If thenotification of the error situation and information thereof are receivedin step 513, the NEF may notify of the information to the AF in step515. The AF may assign a new radio capability ID accordingly, and thenmay perform step 501 again.

The AMF, which stores the UE radio capability and the radio capabilityID therefor via procedures above, may use the same at a later time whenthe UE performs a registration procedure as shown in step 517. If the UEtransfers a registration request including the radio capability ID, theAMF may discover a corresponding radio capability, may include thisinformation in an N2 message transferred to a base station in order totransfer a registration accept message, and may inform the base stationof the N2 message. The base station may determine the UE radiocapability by using this information, and may provide a correspondingRRC function. Alternatively, if the base station has already received,from the AMF, the radio capability and the radio capability ID therefor,the base station may determine the radio capability therefor by checkingthe radio capability ID information transferred by the UE.

The NEF may continuously store AMF address information obtained in step507 and step 509. Therefore, when the AF additionally transfers theradio capability and the radio capability ID therefor, step 511 mayproceed using the stored AMF address information. As another method, theNEF may perform a service operation referred to as an NFstatussubscription, for the NRF. This corresponds to performing a function ofinforming the NEF of a corresponding NF address and service operation bythe NRF, when there is a newly added NF. For example, if an AMF in thenetwork is newly added, the NRF informs the NEF of the address andservice operations of the newly added AMF. The NEF may update a list ofstored AMFs by using this information, and may perform step 511 by usingthe list of AMFs when the request as shown in step 501 has beenreceived.

The AMF of the embodiment is a network function included in a 5G system.This may correspond to an MME of a 4G system (Evolved Packet System;EPS). Therefore, the AMF of the embodiment according to FIG. 5 may bereplaced by an MME in order to operate in the 4G system. Likewise, theNEF may correspond to a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF) inthe 4G system, and the NEF of the embodiment may be replaced by the SCEFin order to operate in the 4G system.

Second Embodiment—FIG. 6

A second embodiment is based on FIG. 6.

The AF of FIG. 6 refers to an application function operated by a mobilecommunication service provider. Alternatively, the AF may refer to anapplication function that allows the mobile communication serviceprovider to access its own mobile communication network. That is, the AFmay be an application function allowed to communicate with NFs withoutaccessing NEFs. The AF may be an application function connected tomultiple UE manufacturer servers so as to receive and store a radiocapability and a radio capability ID therefor from a corresponding UEmanufacturer server. The AF in the embodiment may be a kind of a networkfunction operated by the PLMN service provider. That is, the AF maycorrespond to a network function that may store a UE's radio capabilityand radio capability ID, may assign the radio capability ID, or maymanage (generate/delete/modify) the radio capability ID. Therefore, theAF of the embodiment is not limited to the name AF and covers a networkfunction including a function enabling storage of a UE radio capabilityand a radio capability ID, assignment of the radio capability ID, ormanagement (generation/deletion/modification) of the radio capabilityID. In terms of which the AF of the embodiment is a network functionincluding a function enabling storage of a UE radio capability and aradio capability ID, assignment of the radio capability ID, ormanagement (generation/deletion/modification) of the radio capabilityID, the AF may be replaced with a UE Radio Capability ManagementFunction (UCMF) defined in 3GPP.

The UE manufacturer knows a UE radio capability when the UE is newlyreleased or knows a radio capability of a UE having already beenreleased. The UE manufacturer may determine, using a method based on the3GPP standard, a radio capability ID capable of representing theinformation, and may configure the same to the UE. In the case of a UEhaving already been released, because a specific radio capability may beprevented from being used, via a software update, a radio capability IDother than a previously configured radio capability ID may be required.As a result, the UE created by the UE manufacturer is configured by aradio capability ID configured by the UE manufacturer, and makes anattempt to access the mobile communication system by using the radiocapability ID.

When the UE manufacturer newly releases a UE, the UE manufacturer maycontract, in advance, with a mobile communication company, via which theUE is to be released. Therefore, the mobile communication company mayauthorize a specific application function to provide its own mobilecommunication network with a UE radio capability and a radio capabilityID therefor. The application function may be operated by the mobilecommunication service provider, or may be an application functionauthorized to communicate with another NF by being able to access theinside of the mobile communication system.

According to step 601, the AF first acquires addresses of the NFs inorder to provide association between the radio capability and the radiocapability ID therefor to the NF of the 5G mobile communication system.Therefore, the AF transfers a message to the NRF in step 601. In thedisclosure, providing an AMF with a radio capability and a radiocapability ID by the AF is used as a representative example. The AF mayalso transfer the information to another NF within the 5G system. The AFcommunicates with the NRF to discover an NF to which the AF itself is totransfer the radio capability and radio capability ID. As shown in step601, the AF may use an Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request message. The AFincludes, in the message, an NF type that the AF itself desires todiscover. Alternatively, the message may include a service operationname of a target NF. In this case, as Namf_Provisioning_Request in step605, a service operation name for providing specific information to aparticular NF (e.g., the AMF) may be referred. The AF may include anidentifier indicating that all AMF information within a PLMN is desired.

According to step 603, the NRF includes and transfers an IP address ofthe NF, an FQDN, or the service operation name in response to therequest in step 607. According to an example, the NRF may include theFQDN or the IP address of the AMF, and a service operation name enablingradio capability information to be further provided to the AMF. The NRFmay respond including information of all AMFs within the PLMN.

The AF may determine, on the basis of the received information, the AMFsused to provide radio capabilities and radio capability IDs. If the NEFhas received the service operation name for providing information instep 603, the NEF transfers the message of step 605 by using the name.In the disclosure, Namf_Provisioning_Request refers to a serviceoperation that provides specific information to the AMF. The message ofstep 605 may be concurrently transferred to multiple AMFs. Further, themessage of step 605 may include the radio capability and the radiocapability ID received by the NEF from the AF. When association betweenmultiple radio capabilities and radio capability IDs are present, theNEF may include all multiple pieces of information in the message ofstep 605.

The AMF having received the message of step 605 stores the associationbetween the radio capabilities and the radio capability IDs. Therefore,when the UE transfers the radio capability IDs, the AMF may determinethe UE radio capabilities corresponding to the IDs. Alternatively, ifthe UE has transferred the entire set of the radio capabilities, theradio capability IDs corresponding thereto may be determined. If thereceived information overlaps with information that the AMF already has,the AMF may update existing information with the newly receivedinformation. Alternatively, the AMF may recognize this situation as anerror, and may perform a response thereto in step 607.

The AMF may transfer, via an N2 interface, this information to an NG-RANconnected thereto. If the radio capability and the radio capability IDinformation therefor are transferred to the NG-RAN via an N2 message,the NG-RAN stores this information, and may use the information when theUE accesses a radio resource. For example, the UE may determine acorresponding UE radio capability by checking the radio capability IDtransferred in an RRC message. Further, the UE may apply an RRCoperation according thereto.

Thereafter, as shown in step 607, the AMF transfers, to the AF, aresponse to step 605. This is referred to as Namf_Provisioning_Responsefor convenience, but refers to a response operation to a serviceoperation in which the NEF has transferred the radio capability and theradio capability ID to the AMF. In step 607, the AMF may indicate anerror situation as follows. For example, if the newly received radiocapability ID corresponds to the previously existing radio capabilityID, a notification of data duplication may be provided in step 607.Alternatively, when different radio capability IDs are assigned to a setof the same radio capabilities, a notification thereof may betransferred in step 607. Here, the AMF may include a cause of the errorsituation and the radio capability or the radio capability ID, in whichthe cause has occurred.

The AF may determine in step 607 that the radio capability and the radiocapability ID therefor have successfully been provided. If anotification of the error situation and information thereof are receivedin step 607, the AF may assign a new radio capability ID accordingly,and then may perform step 605 again. Because the AF has already acquireda list of AMFs, the AF is not required to repeat step 601 in order toacquire addresses of the AMF again. Further, the AF may perform aservice operation referred to as NFstatus subscription, for the NRF.This is a service operation for, when a new NF is added within themobile communication system, receiving a notification of informationrelating thereto. Via this operation, the AF may acquire an address ofthe NF newly added within the network, for example, a newly added AMF,and may provide a radio capability and a radio capability ID therefor.

The AMF, which stores the UE radio capability and the radio capabilityID therefor via procedures above, may use the same at a later time whenthe UE performs a registration procedure as shown in step 609. If the UEtransfers a registration request including the radio capability ID, theAMF may discover a corresponding radio capability, may include thisinformation in an N2 message transferred to a base station in order totransfer a registration accept message, and may inform the base stationof the N2 message. The base station may determine the UE radiocapability by using this information, and may provide a correspondingRRC function. Alternatively, if the base station has already received,from the AMF, the radio capability and the radio capability ID therefor,the base station may determine the radio capability therefor by checkingthe radio capability ID information transferred by the UE.

The AMF of the embodiment is a network function included in a 5G system.This may correspond to an MME of a 4G system (Evolved Packet System;EPS). Therefore, the AMF of the embodiment according to FIG. 5 may bereplaced by an MME in order to operate in the 4G system. Likewise, theNEF may correspond to a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF) inthe 4G system, and the NEF of the embodiment may be replaced by the SCEFin order to operate in the 4G system.

Third Embodiment—FIG. 7

A third embodiment is based on FIG. 7.

The AF of FIG. 7 refers to an application function operated by a UEmanufacturer. Alternatively, although the AF is operated by other than aUE manufacturer, the AF may refer to other application functions tomanage a UE radio capability and a radio capability ID. The AF may referto as an application function directly operated by a mobilecommunication service provider. FIG. 7 may include a case where a mobilecommunication system uses a UDR. The UDR of FIG. 7 may be replaced by anetwork function having a function of storing a UE radio capability anda radio capability ID. In the following description, a UDR will be usedas an example for convenience, but the AF may comprehensively refer to,instead of the UDR, a network function (NF) having a function to storeand manage (generate/modify/delete) a radio capability and a radiocapability ID, that is, a network function (NF) operated by an PLMNservice provider. Therefore, the UDR of the embodiment is not limited tothe name UDR and includes a network function including a functionenabling storage of a UE radio capability and a radio capability ID,assignment of the radio capability ID, or management(generation/deletion/modification) of the radio capability ID.Therefore, the UDR may be replaced by a UE Radio Capability ManagementFunction UCMF defined in the 3GPP.

According to step 701, the AF transfers a UE radio capability and aradio capability ID therefor via an NEF. A message may includeassociation between multiple radio capability IDs and radiocapabilities. That is, the message may transfer a radio capability ofone UE type and a radio capability ID, and may transfer multiple radiocapabilities and radio capability IDs thereof for respective multiple UEtypes. To this end, an API provided by the NEF may be used. Further, inthe embodiment, this API is referred to as anNnef_RadioCapability_Provisioning Request message, for convenience. Thisrepresents a message that transfers association configured by the radiocapability and the radio capability ID therefor to the NEF. The messagemay include UE manufacturer information, or may include informationenabling the mobile communication company to authorize/approve acorresponding UE manufacturer.

The NEF having received the message determines whether the AF havingtransferred the message in step 701 is an authorized AF. If any AFtransfers a radio capability, wrong information may be provided to amobile communication system, and therefore the NEF checks the message ofstep 701 and determines whether the message is transferred from anauthorized AF or determines which manufacturer has transferred themessage. Therefore, according to step 703, the NEF checksauthentication/approval information or UE manufacturer informationprovided in step 701, and determine whether to accept the request of themessage in step 701. The NEF may include, in advance, the informationfor performing authentication/approval.

The NEF having accepted the request transfers, to the AF, a responsethat the request has been accepted, in step 705. This response is aresponse to the message of step 701, and may be referred to asNnef_RadioCapability_Provisioning Response. The AF having received theresponse may confirm that the UE radio capability and the radiocapability ID therefor, which are to be provided thereby, have properlybeen transferred to the corresponding mobile communication network.

The NEF performs, via the message of step 707, an operation forupdating, to the UDR or the UCMF, the UE radio capability and the radiocapability ID therefor, which are acquired in step 701. The NEF mayrequest an update of specific information during data managementperformed by the UDR, via an Nudr_DM_Update service operation.Alternatively, the NEF may request an update of a radio capabilityinformation database managed by the UCMF, via an Nucmf_provisioningservice operation. The NEF includes, in the message, the radiocapability and the radio capability ID therefor which are received instep 701, and transmits the same. The UDR or the UCMF stores theinformation received from the NEF. If the information overlaps withalready stored information, the stored information may be updated withthe newly received information.

The UE performs a registration procedure to access the 5G mobilecommunication system. The UE includes the radio capability ID in aregistration request and transfers the same. The radio capability ID maybe a value preconfigured by the UE manufacturer, or may be a valuepreconfigured by the mobile communication service provider, orinformation included in a USIM. The AMF having received the registrationrequest performs an operation of discovering a radio capabilitycorresponding to the radio capability ID included in a registrationrequest message. If no radio capability information for the radiocapability ID transferred by the UE is present in the AMF, the AMFstarts an operation of step 709 in order to acquire the radio capabilityfor the radio capability ID. The AMF transfers a request for acquiringinformation of the radio capability to the UDR or the UCMF, as shown instep 709. The AMF may include an indicator, i.e., a request for theradio capability information, for example, radio capability IDinformation, in an Nudr_DM_query request transferred to the UDR or anNucmf_radiocapability_resolve request transferred to the UCMF, in orderto make a request. The AMF may include version information of “the radiocapabilities and information of the radio capability IDs” held thereby.The AMF may display a version of most recently provided information.This version information may be used to determine whether to transferinformation updated by only the UDR or the UCMF, or to transfer allinformation on radio capabilities of all types of UEs. The versioninformation may be Timestamp indicating a time at which correspondingdata has been provided. That is, the AMF may manage, as Timestampinformation, the time at which the corresponding data has been providedand stored with respect to information of most recently provided andstored radio capabilities. Due to the absence of information of theradio capability, the AMF may include an indicator that requests allinformation. The UDR or the UCMF having received the indicator maydetermine to include all information. Alternatively, it is possible toconfigure the UDR or the UCMF to determine to transfer all information,by excluding most recent version information from the request of step709. The AMF may make a request including the radio capability IDreceived from the UE. This is to request information of a specific radiocapability ID from the UDR or the UCMF, and the UDR or the UCMF may senda response with the radio capability information of the specific radiocapability ID. If the AMF is able to directly access the UDR or theUCMF, the AMF transmits the message of step 709 directly to the UDR orthe UCMF. If the AMF is unable to directly access the UDR or the UCMF,the AMF transmits a request to the UDR or the UCMF via an NEF. The AMFmay find an address of the NEF via the NRF or may find the address byinternal configuration information, and transmits the message of step709 to the NEF. The AMF may include, in the request of step 709,indication that its own NF type is the AMF and transmit the request.Further, the AMF may inform of its own address, including an AMF ID, forreception of a response.

When the AMF transmits a query to the UDR or the UCMF via the NEF, theNEF may perform step 711 to transfer the request of the AF to the UDR orthe UCMF. The NEF transfers intact the message received in step 709 tothe UDR or the UCMF.

The UDR or UCMF having received the request from the AMF according tostep 711, or the UDR or UCMF having received the request directly fromthe AMF according to step 709 transfers radio capability information inresponse to the request from the AMF according to step 713. The messagein step 713 includes radio capabilities and a list of radio capabilityIDs therefor. The UDR or the UCMF may check the request transmitted bythe AMF according to step 709 or step 711, and may transfer all radiocapability-related information stored in the UDR or the UCMF, or the AMFmay check the current version of radio capability information data heldthereby, which is included in the request message and transmitted, andmay determine the radio capability information further updated from thecorresponding version to be transferred. Alternatively, the AMF maycheck most recently updated date information of the radio capabilityinformation data held thereby, which is included in the request messageand transmitted, that is Timestamp, and may determine the radiocapability information further updated compared to a corresponding timeto be transferred. When the updated radio capability information istransferred, a smaller amount of data may be transferred compared totransferring all radio capability information. The UDR or the UCMF mayspecify versions for information lists and transfer the same, theinformation lists being for radio capabilities and radio capability IDs,which are transferred to the AMF. The version may be indicated by numberor may be referred to as date or time. The version may be used to notifyof information currently held by the AMF itself when the AMF requeststhe UDR or the UCMF to update the radio capability at a later time. Asanother example, when a specific radio capability ID is included in therequest transmitted by the AMF, it may be determined to transfer onlythe radio capability ID and radio capability information therefor. Ifinformation of the radio capability ID requested by the AMF is notpresent in the UDR or the UCMF, the UDR or the UCMF may transfer anerror indicating that no data corresponding to a response message ispresent. After the determination above, the UDR or the UCMF transmits aresponse according to step 713. When the request by the AMF istransferred via the NEF, the response may be transmitted to the NEFaccording to step 713, and because the message includes the AMF ID, theNEF may be informed of an address of a target AMF. When the request bythe AMF of transferred directly to the UDR or the UCMF according to step709, the message of step 713 may be transferred directly to the AMFidentified by the AMF ID.

As another detailed embodiment, when the Nucmf_radiocapability_resolvemessage for requesting radio capability information for a UE radiocapability ID is transferred, the AMF may transmit a request includingan indicator to request to transfer all of a data set of radiocapability information currently stored in the UDR or the UCMF.Alternatively, the message for requesting the radio capabilityinformation may not include the UE radio capability ID, but may includethe indicator to request to transfer the data set of the radiocapability information stored in the UDR or the UCMF. This is to acquireinformation for the AMF to local-cache the radio capability information.The UDR or UCMF having received the request may determine to transfer,to the AMF, the data set of the radio capability information storedtherein, and may transfer data to the AMF via a response serviceoperation to the request. When a data capacity is larger, the responsemessage may be divided into multiple HTTP messages so as to betransmitted. When the request is transferred, the AMF may transfer therequest further including a version of a radio capability informationdata set, which the AMF itself has held and is local-cached, a timevalue obtained by local-caching the radio capability information data,or the like. The UDR or UCMF having received the request may check theversion and the time value to determine which data set is furthernecessary for the AMF so as to determine the most recent data set to betransferred to the AMF, and may configure corresponding data andtransfer the configured data to the AMF via the response serviceoperation.

The AMF may further include network slice information (e.g., a networkslide for CIoT, etc.) in the message for requesting the radio capabilityinformation. The network slice information may be information, such aseMBB, CIoT, V2X, URLLC, etc., and may have different radio capabilityinformation according to characteristics of UEs accessing respectivenetwork slices. The UCMF having received the network slice informationmay determine a type of a UE using a corresponding network slice. Forexample, if network slice information for CIoT is included, the UCMF maydetermine that the AMF is an AMF supporting the CIoT network slice and,therefore, the UCMF may determine radio capability information used byCIoT UEs, and may configure a data set so as to transmit the configureddata set to the AMF via a response service operation.

If the NEF has received the message of step 713, the NEF may check anAMF ID within the message so as to identify a target AMF. Alternatively,the NEF may recognize that a response to step 711 is step 713, and mayidentify an AMF having triggered step 711 to be performed. The NEF thentransfers the response received from the UDR or the UCMF to the AMF,which follows a procedure of step 715.

The AMF having received the response directly from the UDR or the UCMFaccording to step 713 or having received the response of the UDR or UCMFvia the NEF according to step 715 may store the received radiocapability and radio capability ID information therefor. If associationsbetween multiple radio capabilities and radio capability IDs thereforare received, all the associations are stored. If version information isincluded, the version information is also stored together. If acorresponding data set is included with updated time information, thedata set and the updated time information are also stored. Even if theversion or time information is not included, the AMF may determine atime, at which the radio capability information is received, as the mostrecent update time and store the same. The AMF may determine, on thebasis of the stored information, a radio capability corresponding to theradio capability ID which is included in the registration request andtransmitted by the UE. If the response received by the AMF from the UDRor the UCMF has an indicator indicating the absence of radio capabilityinformation corresponding to the radio capability ID transmitted by theUE, the AMF may perform another operation for processing such an errorsituation. For example, the AMF requests, via a UE capability matchrequest message, a base station to transfer the entire set of UE radiocapabilities, and the base station requests, on the basis thereof, theradio capability from the UE and receives the entire set of radiocapabilities supported by the UE. The base station transfers the entireset of radio capabilities received from the UE, in response to the UEcapability match request, and the AMF associates the information withthe radio capability ID transferred by the UE. Therefore, associationbetween the radio capability ID and the radio capability therefor isobtained and the AMF stores the obtained association.

For another method, in order to transmit, to the base station, anotification that the entire set of UE radio capabilities is to beacquired, the AMF may transfer an Initial UE Context Setup Requestmessage to be transferred to the base station, while the message has anempty radio capability information area. Further, the AMF may omit anNAS message from the Initial UE Context Setup Request message, the NASmessage being required to be transferred to the UE. This is because anNAS procedure for the UE may be completed after the radio capabilityinformation of the UE is accurately identified. The base station havingreceived the Initial UE Context Setup Request message performs a radioprocedure of requesting the UE to transfer the radio capabilityinformation. The UE transfers, to the base station, the entire set ofradio capabilities supported by the UE itself. The base stationconfigures an Initial UE Context Setup Response message in response tothe Initial UE Context Setup Request, and includes, in the message, theentire set of the radio capabilities received from the UE so as totransfer the same to the AMF. The AMF having received the configuredmessage determines whether a radio capability ID corresponding to thereceived entire set of radio capabilities is stored in the AMF. Asanother example, the radio capability ID for the entire set of the radiocapabilities may be acquired by transmitting the entire set of the radiocapabilities to the UDR or the UCMF. If the AMF is unable to acquire theradio capability ID corresponding to the entire set of the radiocapabilities, the AMF may directly assign the radio capability IDcapable of indicating the entire set of the radio capabilities. As aresult, association between the radio capability ID and the entire setof the radio capabilities is obtained, and the AMF stores the obtainedassociation. When a radio capability ID is newly assigned, the AMF maytransfer the ID and the entire set of the radio capabilities to the UDRor the UCMF, so as to update information stored in the UDR or the UCMF.

In order to share the new radio capability ID with other NFs within thenetwork, the AMF may perform an operation of updating correspondinginformation to the UDR and the UCMF. In this case, the AMF may transfer,to the UDR or the UCMF, the radio capability ID and the radio capabilityinformation therefor by using a service operation such asNucmf_RadioCapability_Update, or an Nudr_DM_Update service operation.The service operation may be requested by the AMF via the NEF, or may berequested by the AMF directly to the UDR or the UCMF. When the serviceoperation is requested via NEF, the NEF may request an update operationfrom the UDR or the UCMF by using the information included in themessage received from the AMF. The UDR or UCMF having received therequest may store the radio capability and the radio capability IDtherefor. The service operation message is not limited to a serviceoperation name, and includes the meaning of providing, by the AMF, theradio capability information to the UDR or the UCMF to perform anupdate.

If the AMF has successfully acquired the radio capability informationfor the radio capability ID transmitted by the UE from the UDR or theUCMF according to step 713 and step 715, the AMF may include thisinformation in an N2 message, and notify the base station of the same,wherein the N2 message is transferred to the base station in order totransmit a registration accept message. The base station may determinethe UE radio capability by using this information, and may provide acorresponding RRC function.

Regardless of the above procedures, the AMF may perform step 717 toperform a subscription service operation of requesting, when there is anupdate of the radio capability information, notification thereof fromthe UDR or the UCMF. To this end, a service operation ofNudr_DM_subscribe may be used, and the AMF may include, in a requestmessage, an indicator indicating that an update of the radio capabilityinformation is desired. Alternatively, if the AMF performs thesubscription service operation of requesting notification of an updateof the radio capability information from the UCMF when there is theupdate, the AMF may use a service operation ofNucmf_UECapabilityManagement_Subscribe. This is not limited to a serviceoperation name, but may be referred to as another name that signifies aservice operation transferred in the sense of requesting notification ofan update of the radio capability information when there is the update.The AMF may transmit the request directly to the UDR or the UCMF, or maytransmit the request via the NEF. When the request is directlytransmitted, the message of step 717 is directly transmitted to the UDRor the UCMF, and when the request is transmitted via the NEF, themessage of step 717 is transferred to the NEF, and the NEF transfers themessage to the UDR or the UCMF via the message of step 719. When theradio capability information is updated, the UDR or UCMF having receivedthe message may perform an operation of informing a corresponding AMF ofthe updated information. As another detailed embodiment, when asubscription message is transmitted, the AMF may include versioninformation for a radio capability information data set held thereby,information of a time at which the data set has been received, orinformation of a time at which the data set has been generated. Timeinformation may be in the form of a timestamp. The UDR or UCMF havingreceived the subscription message may determine whether the AMF storesmost recent information or whether to transfer, to the AMF, informationupdated after a version or time indicated by the AMF, on the basis ofversion of the radio capability data set held by the AMF or informationof the time at which the data set is generated or provided. The UDR orUCMF having received the subscription message of the AMF may configureradio capability information which may be further stored by the AMF(which may be local-cached), and may include the configured radiocapability information in a notification message (step 721), so as totransfer the notification message to the AMF, on the basis of theversion or time information transmitted by the AMF as described above.

As another detailed embodiment, when the subscription message istransmitted, the AMF may transmit a request including an indicator torequest to transfer all of a data set of radio capability informationcurrently stored in the UDR or the UCMF. This is to acquire informationfor the AMF to local-cache the radio capability information. The UDR orUCMF having received the subscription message may determine to transfer,to the AMF, the data set of the radio capability information storedtherein, and may transfer data to the AMF via a notification serviceoperation (notify). When a data capacity is larger, the notificationmessage (notify) may be divided into multiple HTTP messages so as to betransmitted. In addition to the indicator described above, the AMF maytransfer the notification message including a version of a radiocapability information data set, which the AMF itself has held and islocal-cached, a time value obtained by local-caching the radiocapability information data, or the like. The UDR or UCMF havingreceived the request may check the version and the time value todetermine which data set is further necessary for the AMF so as todetermine the most recent data set to be transferred to the AMF, and mayconfigure corresponding data and transfer the configured data to the AMFvia the notification service operation.

The AMF may further include network slice information (e.g., a networkslide for CIoT, etc.) in the subscription message. The network sliceinformation may be information, such as eMBB, CIoT, V2X, URLLC, etc.,and may have different radio capability information according tocharacteristics of UEs accessing respective network slices. The UCMFhaving received the network slice information may determine a type of aUE using a corresponding network slice. For example, if network sliceinformation for CIoT is included, the UCMF may determine that the AMF isan AMF supporting the CIoT network slice and, therefore, the UCMF maydetermine radio capability information used by CIoT UEs, and mayconfigure a data set so as to transmit the configured data set to theAMF via a notification service operation (notify).

According to steps 701, 703, 705, and 707, or another method, if theradio capability information has been updated to the UDR or the UCMF,the UDR or UCMF may determine to provide the updated radio capabilityinformation to the AMF having performed step 717 or step 719. When theUDR or the UCMF is able to directly respond to the AMF, the message ofstep 721 of Nudr_DM_Notify or Nucmf_RadioCapability_Notify istransferred directly to the AMF. The message is not limited to a namethereof, and if the UDR or the UCMF has subscribed to the update of theradio capability information, the message may refer to a message tonotify newly updated radio capability information in response to thesubscription. When the UDR or the UCMF is unable to directly respond tothe AMF, the UDR or the UCMF transfers the message of step 721 to theNEF, and the NEF transfers the message to the AMF via the message ofstep 723. The Nudr_DM_Notify message may include the radio capabilityupdated in the UDR or the UCMF and the radio capability ID informationtherefor. The UDR or the UCMF may specify versions for information listsand transfer the same, the information lists being for radiocapabilities and radio capability IDs, which have been stored up to thecurrent time. The version may be indicated by number or may be referredto as a date or time at which corresponding data has been generated. TheAMF stores the radio capability ID and radio capability informationtherefor received in step 721 or step 723. If version information isincluded, the version information is also stored together. If acorresponding data set is included with updated time information, thedata set and the updated time information are also stored. Even if theversion or time information is not included, the AMF may determine atime, at which the radio capability information is received, as the mostrecent update time and store the same.

The AMF of the embodiment is a network function included in a 5G system.This may correspond to an MME of a 4G system (Evolved Packet System;EPS). Therefore, the AMF of the embodiment according to FIG. 5 may bereplaced by an MME in order to operate in the 4G system. Likewise, theNEF may correspond to a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF) inthe 4G system, and the NEF of the embodiment may be replaced by the SCEFin order to operate in the 4G system. Likewise, the UCMF may also beassociated with the 4G system and operated.

Fourth Embodiment—FIG. 8

A Fourth embodiment is based on FIG. 8.

The UDR of FIG. 8 may be replaced by a network function having afunction of storing a UE radio capability and a radio capability ID. Inthe following description, a UDR will be used as an example forconvenience, but the AF may comprehensively refer to, instead of theUDR, a network function (NF) having a function to store and manage(generate/modify/delete) a radio capability and a radio capability ID,that is, a network function (NF) operated by an PLMN service provider.Therefore, the UDR of the embodiment is not limited to the name UDR andincludes a network function including a function enabling storage of aUE radio capability and a radio capability ID, assignment of the radiocapability ID, or management (generation/deletion/modification) of theradio capability ID. Therefore, the UDR may be a UE Radio CapabilityManagement Function UCMF defined in the 3GPP.

According to step 801, the UE performs a registration procedure toaccess the 5G mobile communication system. The UE includes the radiocapability ID in a registration request and transfers the same. Theradio capability ID may be a value preconfigured by the UE manufacturer,or may be a value preconfigured by the mobile communication serviceprovider, or information included in a USIM. AMF 1 having received theregistration request performs an operation of discovering a radiocapability corresponding to the radio capability ID included in aregistration request message, according to step 803. If no radiocapability information for the radio capability ID transmitted by the UEis present in AMF 1, AMF 1 transmits, to a base station, a message forrequesting a UE capability according to step 805 in order to acquire theradio capability for the radio capability ID. The base station havingreceived the message performs an RRC procedure with the UE and acquirethe UE radio capability, according to step 807. The base station maytransfer, to AMF 1, the radio capability acquired from the UE via anoperation of step 809 that is a response to step 805. Alternatively,after performing step 809, the base station may separately transfer theUE radio capability to AMF 1 via the message of step 811.

For another method, in order to transmit, to the base station, anotification that the entire set of UE radio capabilities is to beacquired, the AMF may transfer an Initial UE Context Setup Requestmessage to be transferred to the base station according to step 805,while the message has an empty radio capability information area.Further, the AMF may omit an NAS message from the Initial UE ContextSetup Request message, the NAS message being required to be transferredto the UE. This is because an NAS procedure for the UE may be completedafter the radio capability information of the UE is accuratelyidentified. The base station having received the Initial UE ContextSetup Request message performs a radio procedure of requesting the UE totransfer the radio capability information, according to step 807. The UEtransfers, to the base station, the entire set of radio capabilitiessupported by the UE itself. The base station configures and transfers anInitial UE Context Setup Response message according to step 809 inresponse to the Initial UE Context Setup Request, i.e., the message instep 805, wherein the message includes the entire set of the radiocapabilities received from the UE. The AMF having received theconfigured message determines whether a radio capability IDcorresponding to the received entire set of radio capabilities is storedin the AMF. As another example, the radio capability ID for the entireset of the radio capabilities may be acquired by transmitting the entireset of the radio capabilities to the UDR or the UCMF. If the AMF isunable to acquire the radio capability ID corresponding to the entireset of the radio capabilities, the AMF may directly assign the radiocapability ID capable of indicating the entire set of the radiocapabilities. As a result, association between the radio capability IDand the entire set of the radio capabilities is obtained, and the AMFstores the obtained association. When a radio capability ID is newlyassigned, the AMF may transfer the ID and the entire set of the radiocapabilities to the UDR or the UCMF, so as to update information storedin the UDR or the UCMF.

AMF 1 having learned the UE radio capability via step 809 or step 811generates and stores association between the radio capability IDtransmitted by the UE in step 801 and the UE radio capability acquiredfrom step 809 or step 811. The meaning of generating the association isto have an ability to discover a corresponding radio capability by usinga radio capability ID. Likewise, generating the association also meansto have an ability to discover a corresponding radio capability ID byusing a radio capability. If a different radio capability ID has alreadybeen assigned to the UE radio capability acquired in step 809 or step811, the AMF may determine to provide the UE with the already assignedradio capability ID.

According to step 813, AMF 1 transmits a registration accept message tothe UE. Because the message is transferred via the base station, the N2message transferred to the base station contains the message transmittedto the UE. AMF 1 may include the UE radio capability in the N2 messagetransferred to the base station. Alternatively, AMF 1 may transfer themessage including both the UE radio capability ID and the information ofthe radio capability therefor. AMF 1 may include the radio capability IDin the registration accept message of step 813. Here, the radiocapability ID may have the same value as that transmitted by the UE instep 801. If AMF 1 has discovered another radio capability ID (an IDhaving a value different from that of the ID acquired in step 801)corresponding to the radio capability acquired from the UE, AMF 1 mayinclude the already assigned radio capability ID in the registrationaccept message. The UE having performed reception in step 813 mayreplace an existing value with a newly received value if the UE hasreceived a value different from that of the radio capability IDtransferred by the UE itself in step 801. If no radio capability ID isincluded in the registration accept message of step 813, the UE maycontinuously use the radio capability ID used in step 801.

The AMF may determine association to be updated to the UDR or the UCMF,the association between the radio capability newly generated and storedby the AMF itself and the radio capability ID therefor. If AMF 1 isunable to access directly the UDR or the UCMF, AMF 1 performs anNudr_DM_Update service operation via the NEF according to step 815. Ifthe NEF has received the message, the NEF interprets reception of themessage as an operation to perform an update to the UDR or the UCMF, andperforms an Nudr_DM_Update procedure or an Nucmf_radiocapability_Updateprocedure by using, intact, the radio capability information included inthe received message. This is not limited to a service operation name,and refers to an operation of updating the UE radio capabilityinformation to the UDR or the UCMF. If AMF 1 is capable of directlyaccessing the UDR or the UCMF and updating data, AMF 1 performs updatingdirectly according to step 817. The service operation messages in step815 and step 817 include association information between the radiocapability, which is newly generated stored by the AMF itself via anoperation continued from step 811, and the radio capability ID therefor.

The UDR or UCMF having performed reception in step 815 or step 817stores the radio capability ID and the radio capability therefor in astorage unit. Further, because radio capability-related information hasbeen updated, the UDR or UCMF may determine to transmit a notificationto AMF 2 having previously subscribed an update of the radiocapability-related information (operations corresponding to step 719 andstep 721 in embodiment 3). When the UDR or the UCMF is unable todirectly respond to the AMF, the UDR or the UCMF transfers the messageof step 819 to the NEF, and the NEF transfers the message to AMF 2. Whenthe UDR or the UCMF is able to directly respond to the AMF2, the UDR orthe UCMF directly transfers, to the AMF, the message of step 821, aNudr_DM_Notify or Nucmf_RadioCapability_Notify service operationmessage. The Nudr_DM_Notify message may include the radio capabilityupdated to the UDR or the UCMF and the radio capability ID informationtherefor. The UDR or the UCMF may specify versions for information listsand transfer the same, the information lists being for radiocapabilities and radio capability IDs, which have been stored up to thecurrent time. The version may be indicated by number or may be referredto as date. AMF 2 stores the radio capability ID and radio capabilityinformation therefor received in step 819 or step 821. If versioninformation is included, the version information is also storedtogether. As a result, AMFs within the mobile communication serviceprovider may acquire and store the most recently updated UE radiocapability information.

The AMF of the embodiment is a network function included in a 5G system.This may correspond to an MME of a 4G system (Evolved Packet System;EPS). Therefore, the AMF of the embodiment according to FIG. 5 may bereplaced by an MME in order to operate in the 4G system. Likewise, theNEF may correspond to a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF) inthe 4G system, and the NEF of the embodiment may be replaced by the SCEFin order to operate in the 4G system.

As described above, the disclosure proposes a method for providing acombination of UE radio capabilities and representative representationinformation (i.e., identifier) referring to a combination of the UEradio capabilities to an NF of a 5G system in order to efficientlysignal the UE radio capabilities. When a UE accesses a mobilecommunication system and informs a radio capability ID frequently usedby the UE itself, the NF having learned the UR radio capability and anID therefor may acquire a radio capability therefor. Therefore, it isnot necessary to receive all of the UE radio capabilities each time fromthe UE, and the radio capabilities may be acquired using only the IDtransferred from the UE, so as to be applied to a mobile communicationservice.

According to the disclosure, a server operated by a UE manufacturer mayperform provisioning of a radio capability of a UE released by theserver itself and representative representation information (e.g.,identifier) therefor to a Network Function (NF) (e.g., AMF) of a mobilecommunication system. Because the UE released by a corresponding UEmanufacturer uses representative representation information (e.g.,identifier) for a radio capability configured by the UE manufacturerwhen accessing the mobile communication system, the NF (i.e., AMF) ofthe mobile communication system may determine, on the basis ofpreviously provided information, which radio capability the UE uses.

According to the disclosure, with respect to a UE contracted for releaseto a corresponding communication company, a server directly operated bya mobile communication service provider may perform provisioning of aradio capability of the UE and representative representation information(e.g., identifier) therefor to a Network Function (NF) (e.g., AMF) of amobile communication system. Because the UE contracted for release usesrepresentative representation information (e.g., identifier) for a radiocapability configured by the UE manufacturer when accessing the mobilecommunication system, the NF (i.e., AMF) of the mobile communicationsystem may determine, on the basis of previously provided information,which radio capability the UE uses.

According to the disclosure, a UE radio capability and representativerepresentation information (e.g., identifier) therefor may be stored ina Unified Data Repository (UDR) of a mobile communication system. Forthe UE radio capability and the representative representationinformation therefor which are stored in the UDR, when the NF (e.g.,AMF) of the 5G mobile communication system does not know aboutrepresentative representation information transmitted by the UE, acorresponding radio capability may be obtained by asking the UDR.Alternatively, the NF of the 5G mobile communication system maysubscribe an event for a radio capability-related information update tothe UDR, and may receive information thereof when new radio capabilityinformation is updated to the UDR. The NF of the 5G mobile communicationsystem may update, to the UDR, a new UE radio capability combination andrepresentative representation information (identifier) therefor, and theUDR may inform other NFs of the update so as to share the sameinformation.

Methods stated in claims and/or specifications according to variousembodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combinationof hardware and software.

When the methods are implemented by software, a computer-readablestorage medium for storing one or more programs (software modules) maybe provided. The one or more programs stored in the computer-readablestorage medium may be configured for execution by one or more processorswithin the electronic device. The at least one program may includeinstructions that cause the electronic device to perform the methodsaccording to various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by theappended claims and/or disclosed herein.

The programs (software modules or software) may be stored innon-volatile memories including a random access memory and a flashmemory, a Read Only Memory (ROM), an Electrically Erasable ProgrammableRead Only Memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disc storage device, a CompactDisc-ROM (CD-ROM), Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs), or other type opticalstorage devices, or a magnetic cassette. Alternatively, any combinationof some or all of the above may form a memory in which the program isstored. Further, a plurality of such memories may be included in theelectronic device.

In addition, the programs may be stored in an attachable storage devicewhich is accessible through communication networks such as the Internet,Intranet, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), and storagearea network (SAN), or a combination thereof. Such a storage device mayaccess the electronic device via an external port. Further, a separatestorage device on the communication network may access a portableelectronic device.

In the above-described detailed embodiments of the disclosure, acomponent included in the disclosure is expressed in the singular or theplural according to a presented detailed embodiment. However, thesingular form or plural form is selected for convenience of descriptionsuitable for the presented situation, and various embodiments of thedisclosure are not limited to a single element or multiple elementsthereof. Further, either multiple elements expressed in the descriptionmay be configured into a single element or a single element in thedescription may be configured into multiple elements.

Although the present disclosure has been described with variousembodiments, various changes and modifications may be suggested to oneskilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompasssuch changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for operating a network node in awireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving, from anapplication function (AF) via a network exposure function (NEF), userequipment (UE) radio capability information on UE radio capabilityidentifier (ID) and at least one UE radio capability mapping to the UEradio capability ID; receiving, from an access and mobility managementfunction (AMF), a request for information on at least one UE radiocapability mapping to a specific UE radio capability ID; andtransmitting, to the AMF, the information on at least one UE radiocapability mapping to the specific UE radio capability ID.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the UE radio capability ID represents the at leastone UE radio capability mapping to the UE radio capability ID.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the UE radio capability ID is UE manufacturerassigned or public land mobile network (PLMN)-assigned.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the network node stores the UE radio capabilityinformation on the UE radio capability ID and the at least one UE radiocapability mapping to the UE radio capability ID.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the network node is UCMF (UE radio capability managementfunction).
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, fromthe AF via the NEF, updated UE radio capability information on UE radiocapability ID and at least one UE radio capability mapping to the UEradio capability ID.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving, from the AMF, a subscription message requesting notificationof updated UE radio capability information; transmitting, to the AMF, anotification message for the updated UE radio capability information. 8.The method of claim 1, wherein the request for the information on the atleast one UE radio capability mapping to the specific UE radiocapability ID is received from the AMF via the NEF.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the request for the information on the at least one UEradio capability mapping to the specific UE radio capability IDcomprises a request for all of radio capability information currentlystored in the network node.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein therequest for the information on the at least one UE radio capabilitymapping to the specific UE radio capability ID comprises network sliceinformation corresponding to a type of the UE.
 11. A network node in awireless communication system, the network node comprising: atransceiver; and at least one processor operably coupled to thetransceiver, and configured to: receive, from an application function(AF) via a network exposure function (NEF), user equipment (UE) radiocapability information on UE radio capability identifier (ID) and atleast one UE radio capability mapping to the UE radio capability ID;receive, from an access and mobility management function (AMF), arequest for information on at least one UE radio capability mapping to aspecific UE radio capability ID; and transmit, to the AMF, theinformation on at least one UE radio capability mapping to the specificUE radio capability ID.
 12. The network node of claim 11, wherein the UEradio capability ID represents the at least one UE radio capabilitymapping to the UE radio capability ID.
 13. The network node of claim 11,wherein the UE radio capability ID is UE manufacturer assigned or publicland mobile network (PLMN)-assigned.
 14. The network node of claim 11,further comprising a memory configured to store the UE radio capabilityinformation on the UE radio capability ID and the at least one UE radiocapability mapping to the UE radio capability ID.
 15. The network nodeof claim 11, wherein the network node is UCMF (UE radio capabilitymanagement function).
 16. The network node of claim 11, wherein the atleast one processor is further configured to: receive, from the AF viathe NEF, updated UE radio capability information on UE radio capabilityID and at least one UE radio capability mapping to the UE radiocapability ID.
 17. The network node of claim 11, wherein the at leastone processor is further configured to: receive, from the AMF, asubscription message requesting notification of updated UE radiocapability information; transmit, to the AMF, a notification message forthe updated UE radio capability information.
 18. The network node ofclaim 11, wherein the request for the information on the at least one UEradio capability mapping to the specific UE radio capability ID isreceived from the AMF via the NEF.
 19. The network node of claim 11,wherein the request for the information on the at least one UE radiocapability mapping to the specific UE radio capability ID comprises arequest for all of radio capability information currently stored in thenetwork node.
 20. The network node of claim 11, wherein the request forthe information on the at least one UE radio capability mapping to thespecific UE radio capability ID comprises network slice informationcorresponding to a type of the UE.